The University of British Columbia has begun the transition to a contactless smart card to access every building and lab on campus.

The iClass UBC card contains an embedded chip which is used to securely open doors when tapped against hotspots located at the building and lab entrances. The card on the hotspot will communicate with campus system software, pull up the students and staff individual profile, and allow them access to the building if they’re authorized to do so.

“Some of our staff only work Monday to Friday and have access from 7am to 5pm on those days. And students will run into the same issues they face today: locked doors,” said Debbie Harvie, managing director of University Community Services. “We can turn that access on and off and change it automatically.”

UBC has already deployed the keyless system at 20 university buildings and labs. And by the end of the fiscal year, the UBC Okanagan campus hopes to be a 100% keyless.